cursed
by Sincerely The Sign Painter
Summary: Sasada Kitamoto, and Nishimura go into an old abandon house because Sasada want's to look for youkai. What they find is more then they can handle.
1. Chapter 1

It was a dark stormy evening. Most people would be inside right now. Most people wouldn't be in an old abandoned house right now. Sasada had other plans.

"I wonder if we'll find any ghosts here!" Sasada said as she, Kitamoto, and Nishimura walked down a hall of the abandoned house.

"You're really into this stuff." Kitamoto muttered. "You know we won't find anything. Spirits don't exist, so let's just go home." Sasada ignored him and continued to wonder down the hall.

"Hurry up, you two!" she called over her shoulder. Both boys exchanged looks and sighed.

"Why did she drag us along again?" Nishimura asked annoyed.

"Because she couldn't get Natsume to come." Kitamoto reminded him.

"Too bad he didn't come." Sasada grumbled. "It would have been so much more interesting if he did. We would actually find something."

"Hey, we're not that bad!" Kitamoto said indignantly.

"Besides, I'm not sure he's really into that kind of thing." Nishimura commented. "Natsume's so jumpy all the time; this place would probably really scare him." She ignored them again and went into one of the rooms, Kitamoto and Nishimura following her in. The room was full of old, dusty furniture. Most of it was covered in sheets, except for a small statue of a dog that was sitting on the table in the middle of the room.

"Hmmm." Sasada muttered, disappointed. "I don't see anything in here…"

"What were you hoping to find?" Nishimura asked her. "It's not like there's going to be a youkai sitting on table waiting for you."

"I know." She sighed. "I was more hoping that something supernatural would happen, like we'd hear footsteps or hear a voice."

"You want that to happen?" Kitamoto asked, horrified. "That's the sort of thing that happens in horror movies right before people start disappearing!"

"The only thing creepy in this room is that dog statue in the corner." Nishimura said.

"Yeah, its eyes seem to follow us. Creepy…" Kitamoto said, sounding slightly worried.

"Ah, are you afraid of it?" Nishimura teased while walking over to the statue.

"I'm not." Kitamoto growled, eyeing the dog statue. "Though, I'd feel more comfortable if it was covered like the rest of the furniture."

"Then cover it if it bugs you that much." Sasada grumbled. "There are sheets on the ground." Nishimura bent over and pulled a sheet off the ground. The sheet went flying up, knocking the table over, and the statue flew off the table and hit the ground, breaking into pieces.

"You broke it!" Sasada exclaimed.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Nishimura said. "I didn't know that table was so unstable."

"_Who dares to wake me from my slumber?"_ a low voice hissed. All three teens turned to see the dog statue float up and put itself back together.

_"Humans, for your disrespect, I will eat you!"_ It hissed again as it started to grow in size.

"Run!" Nishimura yelled as the three of them charged into the hall.

"Is... that what… you wanted… to… happen?" Nishimura gasped as they ran.

"No!" Sasada exclaimed, panting. "I was hoping… to find a… good youkai. Besides… It's your fault… you broke… it."

"Can we save this until after we're safe?" Kitamoto yelled as they ran down a staircase.

_"Do you think you can outrun me?!" _They heard it hiss. Suddenly the giant dog statue jumped down in front of them, blocking their exit.

"We're going to die." Nishimura whimpered. The statue opened its mouth to reveal massive, sharp teeth. The three teenagers huddled together in fear and watched as the monster approached them. It stopped a few inches away from them and growled.

_"This feeling… I'm still not free yet. I cannot leave without my name…"_ It hissed. _"Curse you, Reiko."_ The youkai stopped and thought for a moment. _"Humans, how about we make a deal? I'll let you live if you find me the Book of Friends."_

"The Book of Friends?" Sasada asked nervously. "What's that?"

_"A powerful object."_ It growled. _"I may not be able to get my name back, but with an army of youkai at my side I can do whatever I want! I'll be able to tear down this building and escape into the outside world."_ It stopped as it remembered that there were still humans there. _"Ah, but it doesn't matter to you what I do with the book. If you don't bring it to me, I'll eat you! Oh, and don't try running. I put a curse on you. If you take too long or I want to know how your search is going I can call you back here and you'll be forced to return!"_

"A curse?" Kitamoto asked as a sharp pain hit is arm. He gasped in pain and grabbed his arm. The other two did the same.

_"Now go find me the Book of Friends."_ It said as it disappeared. _"And don't fail…or else."_ It vanished, leaving the three teenagers alone to their thoughts.

.

**Please review! It makes my day.**


	2. Chapter 2

**First I'd like to thank my beta, OraueTwins. Second I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed on my story. You guys are so epic! Ok on to the story!**

**.**

**The next day at school…**

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"Where are we going to find the Book of Friends?" Kitamoto asked Nishimura as they walked down the hall. "I doubt it's just lying around somewhere."

"Maybe we could check the library?" Nishimura suggested. "It is a book after all."

"Morning, boys!" Sasada called as she ran down the hall towards them. "So last night…."

"It really happened." Nishimura said glumly.

"Oh," Sasada said, disappointed. "I was hoping it was just my overhyped imagination. So, what are we going to do?"

"We were just talking about where the Book of Friends might be." Nishimura said. "I was suggesting the library."

"I doubt it would be there." Kitamoto said. "The youkai said it was a powerful object. If it were lying around a library, someone would have picked it up by now. I bet it's hidden underground or in some secret passage way with lots of traps."

"I think it's probably owned by a youkai." Sasada said thoughtfully. "Maybe Reiko?"

"So you think Reiko has it?" Nishimura said, frowning.

"Arg, this is impossible!" Kitamoto exclaimed. "If youkai are so good at hiding that most people don't think they even exist, then how are we supposed to find them?"

"Youkai aren't good at hiding." Sasada said. "Humans just can't see them. There are probably a bunch of them here right now."

"What? Seriously?" Kitamoto exclaimed, nervously looking around. It was hard to imagine youkai wandering around the school.

"That's so creepy." Nishimura whispered. "It's like another world on top of our world."

"I know! It's so cool." Sasada said. "I love to try and picture what kinds of youkai are wandering around the school."

"Hey, if they aren't visible to humans then why could we see the one at the abandoned house?" Nishimura suddenly asked.

"Well, I read that some powerful youkai can take shapes that humans can see. Also there are objects that can make them visible to the human eye. A third way is to possess an object." Sasada said. "I think it was just possessing that statue. We could see the statue so we knew where it was. I don't think that's how it actually looks."

"If that's the case then how are we going to find the youkai who has the Book of Friends?" Kitamoto asked worriedly.

"Well, there are some people in the world who can see youkai." Sasada said.

"Really?" Nishimura asked. "Do you know anyone who can see them?"

"I'm pretty sure Natsume can." Sasada said.

"Natsume? Are you sure?" Kitamoto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, he acts like he does." Sasada said. "He's always distracted, looking at nothing. He does strange things like talk to thin air. I sometimes see him running from nothing. What else could it be?"

"Maybe you're looking too much into it." Nishimura commented. "If he really does see youkai, don't you think he'd act more fearful? I mean we broke a statue and the youkai tried to eat us! If it's that easy to anger a youkai don't you think Natsume would be more cautious?"

"But he does act fearful!" Sasada retorted back. "Have you ever surprised him before? He looks terrified!"

"Even so, most of the time he acts pretty calm." Nishimura said. "I mean, sure, he does strange things but that doesn't automatically mean he can see them! Have you asked him?"

"Yes," Sasada said, evenly.

"What did he say?" Nishimura asked.

"He said he couldn't." Sasada muttered. "But he could be lying!"

"Why would he lie?" Nishimura asked. "If youkai are as dangerous as the one we met then he wouldn't want to face them alone!"

"Maybe no one would believe him!" Sasada retorted.

"But you asked him, so that means you believe him." Nishimura said back. "If so, then why would he lie to you?"

"It doesn't matter!" Kitamoto interrupted. "It doesn't matter if Natsume can see youkai or not because we aren't going to involve him! Think about it. Even if he can see them, getting him involved is still dangerous! He could be eaten, or cursed. Do you guys really want to put Natsume's life at risk?"

"No, you're right." Nishimura muttered.

"But how are we going to find the Book of Friends without Natsume?" Sasada asked.

"We could, I don't know, hire an exorcist?" Kitamoto said.

"Do they actually exist?" Nishimura asked.

"Well, why not?" Kitamoto said. "Youkai are real so why not exorcists? Isn't the job of an exorcist to get rid of youkai?"

"How do we find an exorcist?" Sasada asked. "I doubt they're just in a phone book."

"Hey, I wonder if Reiko is an exorcist." Kitamoto commented.

"Ok, our first step is to find out more about Reiko." Sasada said. "Let's split up and ask around. We can meet up later and figure out what we found."

**.**

**Meanwhile with Natsume…**

.

Natsume was having a bad day. He was kept up all night because a bunch of youkai decided to throw a party in his room. He overslept and was late for school. To top it all off, a youkai was following him around.

"What do you want?" Natsume finally asked.

"Are you Natsume?" the youkai asked timidly.

"Yes," Natsume said sighing. "What do you want?"

"My name." it said. "Please return my name."

"I'll give you your name after school." Natsume said.

"No!" It said, shaking its head. "Please give it back now! Before it's too late!"

"What do you mean?" Natsume asked, concerned. Why was this youkai so worried?

"Someone wants to steal the Book of Friends!" it said. "I want my name back before that happens!"

"Many youkai want the Book of Friends." Natsume said. "I'm not going to lose it to one of them."

"They aren't youkai." the youkai exclaimed. "They're humans!"

"They're humans?!" he exclaimed nervously. Who knew his secret? Was it an exorcist? Why did they want the book?

"Yes, I heard them talking earlier in one of the school halls!" the youkai said. "Please give me back my name!"

"In the halls?" Natsume questioned. "Were they adults or teens?"

"Teens... I think… they were small humans." it said.

"How many were there?"

"Three."

"Were they girls or boys? What did they look like?"

"I don't know!" the youkai cried. "All humans look alike! Please, give me back my name!" Natsume paused for a second and sighed. He wouldn't be getting any more out of it.

"Come with me." he said, walking down the hall into a spare classroom. "I'll give you your name back."

.

"Thank you, Natsume!" it said as it disappeared. Natsume sighed again, feeling drained.

"I wonder who's after the Book of Friends." Natsume wondered as he sunk to the ground. "Also, why are they after it? For power? How did they even learn about the Book of Friends? Only youkai know about it. Unless they can see youkai…" Natsume's face paled at the thought. There were other students here who could see youkai and he didn't notice them. How much did they know about him? How did he not notice them before? Why didn't they confront him? Natsume stood up and walked out of the classroom. He walked down the hall, lost in thought. Everyone looked suspicious. Any one of the students who were walking around him could be after the Book of Friends.

"Natsume?" a voice called out. He turned to see Nishimura and Kitamoto standing behind him.

"Are you ok?" Kitamoto asked. "You look pale."

"Oh… yeah." Natsume said, distracted. "I'm not feeling well… I'm going to go home." He quickly rushed down the hall away from his friends.

"I need to go home and talk to Sensei." Natsume thought. "I need to find who knows about the Book of Friends."

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